Alliance
by Twentee Nyne
Summary: SPOILERS FOR DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD This is a small piece that I wrote as a Christmas gift for my great friend Meredith. It is an implied scene from ToS: Dawn of the New World. Enjoy!


Why was he so nervous?

There was nothing in his agenda that warranted any extensive amount of wariness aside from the normal selections. He knew what he had to do, and he knew that there was no way of avoiding it, but for some reason that did not delude the anxiety that he felt upon thought of the event that was about to take place. If there had been any other possible solution, he would've considered it. Hell, he would have taken it, assuming it was rational. He wasn't even certain that what he was about to do was rational, but he obviously had no other choice. He had exhausted all other options, and nobody else was willing to help him let alone look at him without immediately calling him out on crimes of betrayal and murder. It didn't matter that he had not committed such crimes. All the public needed to see was a face that they could mask with blame and target with retribution, and what better face than the one that so coincidentally happened to be at the scene of the crime?

Lloyd Irving was running out of time.

Perhaps that was why he was so edgy. If he could not find success or compromise within his upcoming encounter, then he would be at a loss for what to do next. That did not mean that he would give up. Such a notion was not even defined in Lloyd's vocabulary, let alone ever considered for as a possible solution. However, he did not anticipate another lengthy interval of time spent racking his brain and searching through endless fountains of the same information over and over again. It was enough of a balance act already with juggling his public reputation, personal duties, and concerns for the condition of the New World. The last thing he wanted to do was expend what little amounts of time he had left to work with.

For a moment Lloyd's mind flashed back to two years prior to the present. The Journey of Regeneration had at approximately that time frame. If he hadn't known better and somebody told him that two full years had passed since that day, Lloyd would not have believed him. There was a time when he equated two years with an eternity. Two years meant two full sessions of schooling, two more birthdays, two more summers with Genis and Colette and a whole plethora of other events and activities that Lloyd couldn't wait to experience. But the past two years had been different. They were not spent in the peaceable village of Iselia or with his companions that he held dearly. In fact, he had not even been able to keep contact with any of his friends, and that was something that Lloyd regretted deeply. But so many things had occurred doing those accursed two years, and Lloyd felt as if it was only the beginning to another long string of time that was meant to bind him ruthlessly to his unintentionally self-claimed duties of protecting the New World and its people. He was a naturally helpful and efficient person, and thought that trait was one of the main characteristics that propelled him to victory in the Journey of Regeneration, it came at a hefty price that Lloyd had not realized until recently.

Standing amidst the swirling vat of his own contemplation, Lloyd shivered despite himself. The snowy continent where Flanoir rested never ceased with its chilly temperatures and arctic conditions. The well-protected city had quickly grown accustomed to the harsh weather, and some even thrived in it. Lloyd could not deny that the winter theme pleased him, but he was not sure he could endure it all year long. The flakes that constantly fell from the sky were exceptionally plump today. They drifted toward the ground in a calm flurry that made it seem as if the distant horizon was dancing to unheard music. To Lloyd, it reminded him of stars detaching themselves from the velvety night sky to be sprinkled onto the world. It was as if the stars yearned to spread their ethereal beauty with the planet-restricted beings below. Lloyd almost wanted to raise his head and express his gratitude to the shining bits above him. He could only think of a handful of other gifts that would garner as deep an appreciation as the stars.

But for how much longer?

Adjusting his gloves, the twin swordsman inhaled a deep breath of the frosty air. It created a screen of misty fog upon exhaling and releasing the air back into the atmosphere. He had something that required accomplishment, and he was quite aware of how little got done when one merely stood motionless and waited for miracles to occur. Lloyd moved throughout Flanoir with a patchy awareness for his surroundings. On more than one occasion he very nearly tripped over a carelessly placed parcel or bumped into unsuspecting citizens. If he hadn't have heard the playful bark of a dog and averted his gaze in time, he would have collided directly with a pink-haired girl who was more concerned with adjusting her bangs than accepting Lloyd's apology. Nevertheless, Lloyd continued to weave through the streets until he finally approached an exit gate. The environment encasing Flanoir was not all too different from the city itself. Layers of snow completely blanketed the ground and defied any chance that grass would poke through the frozen permafrost below. Tracks from wild monsters told short stories about what that creature had been doing or where it was going, but even those did not last long before the consistently-falling snow erased them from view. The mountain range that encircled the continent was unforgiving for determined hikers, but when it came down to formidable security, there was nothing more proficient. It would take months to traverse the entire continent, and it would be months spent wastefully, for there was nothing more to see beyond the city of Flanoir save for monsters and the Temple of Ice, and that was off limits to civilians.

Reaching into a pocket of his bright red coat, Lloyd withdrew a small sphere. It appeared to be nothing more than a blue and white bauble, but upon tossing it forward, the orb morphed into an angular sort of aircraft complete with handlebars and a seat possibly long enough for more than one occupant. Lloyd wasted no time in boarding his Rheiard and using the controls to raise the vehicle into the frostbitten atmosphere. It would not be a tranquil ride through the snow-burdened wind, but Lloyd had come to desensitize himself to such detriments. It was easy to accommodate after spending so much time airborne.

The Rheiards had not been designed for pleasant flights that did not come with risks. The sleek form and powerful inner structure meant for the Rheiard to be able to travel from one side of the world to the other in speeds that would awe even its creator. Lloyd was one of the first to take advantage of this fact and perform stunts that attracted both positive and negative attention. More than once he had been chastised for performing a stunt that somebody else praised him for. Now, however, the young male was not arcing his craft or zipping through the air as a red-streaked blur. He hovered along at an almost lethargic pace for somebody who was so accustomed to traveling as rapidly as possible. His chocolate-brown eyes concentrated on the ground that moved beneath him. They were abnormally distant with a shade of hesitance dulling the usual spark of action that enabled his expression to appear optimistic and determined. He could still feel the solid block of determination that obstructed any and all thoughts of doubt from slipping into his mind, but that stopper did not ward away the sly nerves that insisted on making themselves known. Those little slivers of nerves somehow managed to flourish despite his attempts at squandering them, and they only grew larger and more intense as his intended destination came into view.

The round-domed edifice before him would have been difficult to find had he not already known of its location. It blended well with its surroundings, which was inevitable considering the keeper of the building, and Lloyd could remember how trying it had been finding the base during the Journey of Regeneration. Finding a clear area to land, Lloyd touched ground and disembarked from his Rheiard, compacting the aircraft back into its spherical state and pocketing it safely. He hadn't worked up anything to say at that point, but rarely did Lloyd Irving ever prepare for anything. He knew what he wanted to gain as a result of this visit, and if he could not properly obtain that wish, then he would simply have to put forth more effort until it was absolutely, one hundred percent, undoubtedly positive that this particular venture was fruitless.

Maneuvering through the corridors and winding pathways was more routine than it had been during Lloyd's first visit. He intercepted a few roaming soldiers here and there, but for the most part, the walk to the innermost chamber was outwardly uneventful. Inwardly, Lloyd's head was becoming more tangled with unanswered questions and unwanted nerves, but he had come this far. Once he reached the ornate set of double doors, Lloyd knew that there was no backing down. In reality, there had probably been no chance of turning around the instant he had set foot on the island. His presence had more than likely already been detected, and the knock that he laid on the grand set of doors was irrelevant. If anything, it made Lloyd's anxiety increase to a higher level. That was until his knock was answered and the doors swung inward to reveal the former Renegades leader, Yuan Ka-fai.

"I need to talk to you, Yuan," Lloyd stated before the half-elf was allowed time to speak. Upon seeing the image of the blue-haired man standing before him, most of Lloyd's nerves were extinguished and replaced by awkward thoughts of confusion and frustration brought on by nostalgia of that fated Journey of Regeneration.

"Lloyd," Yuan replied in a firm and unrelenting voice. "Even now you think you have the right to enter my base uninvited. Some things never change." Standing on the threshold of the open doorway, Yuan crossed his arms and regarded Lloyd with an expression of slight aggravation that did not ward off Lloyd's fortitude. That was simply how Yuan typically looked on any given day.

"Look, there's something going on that I need to talk to somebody about, and since Kratos isn't here, I figured you were the closet match," Lloyd urged with a step forward and a look of glazed-over desperation.

"I don't have time for this," Yuan tried to end the conversation by closing the door, but Lloyd interjected by forcing his foot at the base of the door and placing a palm against its face. His eyes met Yuan's with an emphasis on his persistence.

"I need to talk to you," he said with words that slid from his tongue as more of a demand than a plead. "Please."

"Good-bye, Lloyd," Yuan's finalizing words were accompanied with a force that Lloyd could only assume was mana-aided. He managed to close the doors despite Lloyd's weight pushing against them, and the twin swordsman was left with nothing but a front row look at his own potential failure. But Lloyd wasn't giving in so easily. He stepped back and crossed his arms. With his head lowered, he closed his eyes and tried a different tactic to gain the half-elf's attention.

"It's about Centurions cores."

Speaking loudly enough to ensure that Yuan would hear, Lloyd started to count the seconds in his head. One, two, three . . . If he reached a full minute he was going to turn and leave, but once he got to fourteen, the doors reopened and Yuan stepped aside to allow Lloyd entrance into the half-elf's main chamber. Placing his hands on his sword hilts, Lloyd walked past Yuan and stood before the wooden desk that Yuan returned to. He stared levelly at Lloyd for a moment before addressing the topic that the human being had used to gain his presence.

"What do you know about the Centurions cores?" Yuan asked vaguely.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Lloyd responded instantly. Yuan chuckled momentarily. It was a haughty and short laughter burst that showcased his intolerance for ignorance.

"You wouldn't have come here if you didn't have some sort of conspiracy in mind, Irving."

Lloyd's expression tightened and his gloved hands balled into fists. He did not need this acting of arrogance and mind-reading that Yuan so prominently portrayed. All he needed was answers, and getting answers from Yuan Ka-fai was like extracting one black sand grain from a beach of gold.

"The Centurions are beginning to stir. I found out that they were always around even during the Journey of Regeneration, but they had been dormant at that time. Now that the worlds are unified, they're coming out of that state and attracting monsters. I think it may have something to do with the odd weather changes that have been taking place in Triet too. The people are worried that Flanoir is the next to change. Nothing seems different right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if all of this snow stopped tomorrow. I understand the Centurions are what control the monsters and keep them in line, but if they have been dormant this whole time, then why are the monsters just now starting to act up? They weren't this bad even during the journey," Lloyd began the exchange of information as best he could. There were so many questions he wanted to ask that they began to run together and muddle his train of thought. Lloyd knew that he would not get anything thorough from Yuan unless he pressed the situation, and though he was prepared to do so, Lloyd found it difficult to speak coherently when his brain was trying to think in three different directions at the same time.

"Why is irrelevant," Yuan began. He was jumping into the conversation without any forethought or consideration, and Lloyd took that as a sign of collaboration. "The cores are merely the Centurions in an unhatched state of existence brought on by critical circumstances, and the purpose of the Centurions is not only to maintain control over the monsters, but over the mana as well. What do you know of Ratatosk?"

"Ratatosk," Lloyd repeated in a fashion that was similar to how a student would recite an answer in class. "The spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree. What does Ratatosk have to do with anything?"

"Ratatosk is the spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree, but I should have expected you to not be aware that he is also the guardian of the gate to Niflheim. His power is based on the existence of the Centurions."

"Niflheim? Since the Centurions have been dormant, does that mean that Ratatosk is powerless?"

"Less powerful is a more accurate way of putting it."

"Then why is the Vanguard trying to find the cores?"

"Must I explain everything? Make the connection, Irving; the Vanguard is an advocacy group for the power of Sylvarant over Tethe'alla. If the Vanguard can get its hands on the Centurion cores and unleash their power back to Ratatosk, then they may be able to use that power to do as they wish."

Lloyd had since sat down with a palm to his forehead. Even with the scraps of answers that he was receiving, he was still bewildered as to certain factors about the Centurions.

"But what if Ratatosk doesn't agree to the Vanguard's terms?"

"It is a risk they are willing to take, but there are other concerns that take precedence over the Vanguard's motives."

"Somebody is trying to kill Ratatosk."

Lloyd's sudden elaboration on Yuan's cryptic statement caused the half-elf's eyes to widen. He leaned forward with his hands on the desk top and eyed Lloyd skeptically.

"How do you know that?"

"How is irrelevant," Lloyd shot back with a dose of Yuan's own enigmatic behavior. Too often had Lloyd been forced to endure Yuan's mysterious ways of recalling information and appearing in the oddest of places. It was revitalizing to be able to let Yuan experience a bit of his own teeth-grinding tactics, but if the half-elf was truly impacted by the retaliation, he did not show it past a wordless grunt and a shifting of his eyes.

"I'm surprised you figured something like that out on your own. Regardless, there are traces of somebody with the intention of destroying Ratatosk. I trust you know the implications of such an act?" Yuan presumed with a hint of expectancy in his voice. Whether that was expectancy at Lloyd's actual awareness or a mock at Lloyd's need to have certain things explained to him was unknown, but the dual swordsman replied regardless.

"I originally believed the World Tree would suffer since it's a seed of the Great Kharlan Tree. But if Ratatosk is the guardian of the gate to Niflheim and he was destroyed, I assume the gate would open."

Further explanation of what would entail from the gate's opening was unnecessary. Both men were aware of the horrors that lurked behind that gate. Niflheim had not been sealed from the world for no apparent reason, after all, and the details of what could occur were those horrors unleashed onto the unsuspecting world were gruesome enough even in thought. Yuan's head nodded once in recognition of Lloyd's presumption. Chin lowered, his expression took on a dark shadow.

"The World Tree is only jeopardized if its name is spoken in Ratatosk's presence. I imagine he is not pleased with his tree dying while another is put in its place, but it is well guarded under Martel's eye as well as my own. I do not yet have the identity of the one pursing this goal of killing Ratatosk, but whoever it is must be stopped. If the door to Niflheim is opened, then the New World and all of its people will be at the mercy of the demon world. The reunification and hostile aftermath will all have been in vain if Ratatosk is destroyed."

A silence befell the room after Yuan's final statement. Lloyd appeared tense as he brooded in his own thoughts. Had he not just finished pulling the world out of the line of danger? Had lives not been lost and cities destroyed all in attempt to unify the two worlds and put an end to the constant struggle in vying for mana? Lloyd was not one to put on a bitter visage, but it was as if he could not catch a break anywhere. Mithos' death and the power of the Eternal Sword should have put an end to the peril that threatened the Sylvranti and Tethe'allans. Instead, not only did it provoke sometimes bloody feuds between the two very different origins of people, but now both worlds may be in equal jeopardy of being overcome by a flood of vile and ruthless demons. The only advantage this time around was that Lloyd was knowledgeable from the beginning. He was not diving head first into a bottomless pool of problems that he did not understand. With the light that Yuan shed, Lloyd was able to connect certain dots and close a few windows of coherency. Of course, more had been opened, rather viciously at that, but now Lloyd knew what he was dealing with. He had an ultimate objective -- obligation was more like it -- and the past be damned if he was about to allow all of his hard work be obliterated by a world of demonic creatures.

"I assume you'll be gathering your group and setting out to save the world once again," Yuan spoke to break the air of private thought. Lloyd looked up from his hands to meet Yuan's ever-level pair of eyes that made it difficult to distinguish a glare from merely being attentive.

"No," Lloyd responded after a few more moments of silence. "They don't deserve to be shoved back into all of this. I don't want to put them in danger. Let them live as happily as they can without being roped into something like this all over again."

"It is amusing that you mention that," Yuan said with a wry grin. "The former Chosen was here looking for you."

It was Lloyd's turn to express shock at an announcement. His hands gripped the arm rests of the chair he was holding down and he leaned forward in earnest that he was incapable of hiding.

"Colette . . . what did she say, Yuan? Why is she looking for me?"

Lloyd's mind instantly jumped to the image of the blonde-haired Iselia native. Colette Brunel was considered both a success and a failure by many of the citizens of the New World. But even when the public threw their disgrace and shameful insults in her face, Colette managed to uphold a smile and remember that she had succeeded in more ways than one. Lloyd had been a major part in convincing her that she never was and never could be anything near a failure, and when Lloyd thought of the guilt that he felt for letting go of contact with his friends, Colette was one of the first that popped into his mind. She specifically made Lloyd's insides twinge in uncomfortable guilt, and the degree of that discomfort only intensified when Yuan mentioned her searching for him. Eager to hear what Yuan had to reveal, Lloyd continued to lean forward, as if being closer to the Renegades leader would press him to go faster.

"She did not say, but she seemed frantic to find you. It was of a little concern for me anyway. Your romantic affairs have nothing to do with my business," Yuan answered Lloyd with an air of nonchalance about him. Lloyd's expression flitted between one of fury and one of grief-ridden shame. He didn't want to worry Colette. That was the absolute last thing he wanted to do to her, but next to that was also the act of placing her in imminent danger. Colette had unarguably been the main recipient of most of the threats and danger during the Journey of Regeneration. Too many times did Lloyd have to witness her being carried off, soulless or well aware of her consciousness, and too many times had Lloyd thought the worst when she was taken out of his sight. There had been nights when he refused to eat or sleep due to the fret that he endured over Colette's safety. If she wasn't offered the luxury of safe living, then why should Lloyd have the right to stuff his stomach or sleep through the night? He simply couldn't bear the thought of putting Colette in that position, and if that meant avoiding her until matters could be settled, regardless of how it tore at every fiber of his heart, then Lloyd would simply have to endure the pain and believe that it would be well worth it in the end.

He wanted to point out that Yuan's snide remark about Lloyd's love life was uncalled for and inappropriate, but he figured it would be a futile and unheeded retort, so he allowed the irritation to dissipate for the time being. Instead, Lloyd leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Everything had changed, and at first Lloyd had thought that was a good thing. He had thought that by successfully doing what everybody told him he could not could only yield unrealistically wonderful results. That was how some people defined the word impossible; something so beyond realism that it was too good to be true. Of course, that definition went both ways. It could be something that was too horrendous to be true, but Lloyd had hoped and prayed to the Goddess Martel that by unifying the two worlds and putting an end to needless sacrifices that everybody would be able to live the joyous lives that they deserved. He should have realized that such a fantasy was nothing but that; the fantasy of a foolish boy. But he was prepared to alter that concept just like he had altered the expectations of his past efforts. Somehow, he would find a way to bring this current issue into the justifying light, and somehow he would ward off the shadows that insisted on casting the threat of evil onto the New World.

"I'm going to stop Ratatosk from being killed," Lloyd declared in a tone of voice that proclaimed nothing short of iron-clad determination. "I'm going to keep Niflheim from being exposed and put everybody back into a safe world."

"Bold words, Irving," Yuan responded with blatantly feigned admiration.

"And you're going to help me," Lloyd continued with in the same tone. The half-elf nearly lost his control on balance as he momentarily laughed at the younger boy's announcement. Yuan's smirk was one of genuine amusement, but his eyes glinted in defiance against Lloyd's willful remark.

"I'm going to help you? You amuse me, Irving. Enlighten me as to why I should help you."

Lloyd's position shifted as he lifted himself off his seat and stood up to meet Yuan's stare. He was not as tall as the Renegades leader, but the difference between the two of them was slight, and the sturdy determination in Lloyd's eyes was a worthy opponent for the condescending arrogance in Yuan's.

"It is your obligation, for one thing," Lloyd began. "You are the guardian of the World Tree, after all, and you'd be endangering it if you allowed the demons come in from Niflheim. I can easily guess that they would be drawn to the big supply of mana." Lloyd paused for a moment after stating his claim. He wasn't finished, however, and Yuan's inquisitive silence was a hint that he was waiting for the next plausible reason. "And also, I am your only option. Kratos isn't here anymore. He's on Derris-Kharlan, and you've disbanded most of the Renegades. If we work together, we can figure out a way to stop this from happening. I know we can! But I can't do it without help, and neither can you. Even if you still refuse, I will still find a way to save the New World, but it'll be a lot easier if we can agree to work together. I know you don't want to see this world perish. Just like . . . just like Martel."

The mentioning of Martel seemed to spark something inside of Yuan that could not accurately be identified. It could have been irritation, inspiration, or downright anger, but Lloyd had taken the risk of naming the half-elf's late fiancée, and the suspense of not knowing Yuan's reaction was almost as nerve-racking as appearing in the first place had been. Yuan merely stared at Lloyd in a calculating manner. His gaze seemed to be sizing the human male up from top to bottom. Perhaps he was weighing his options and considering the amount of pros and cons that would come with collectively working with Lloyd Irving. It was difficult to Lloyd to guess, but he kept a handle on his outer composure to emphasize the level of seriousness that he was exhibiting. Yuan may have been the most mysterious and devious beings alive in the New World, and Lloyd didn't think that anybody would want to argue that perception, but even the Renegades leader could be compromised with if the correct methods were utilized. It may have been considered black mail or guilt-tripping by the average person, but to Lloyd and Yuan, it was clever strategy, and that was something that Yuan Ka-fai could respect.

"Martel's wishes are my own. I will work with you, Lloyd Irving, for the sake of this forsaken world's safety," Yuan said while his reluctance gradually melted into acceptance. "Meet me at the World Tree tomorrow evening. We will further discuss under the protection of Martel herself."

Lloyd's inner tension loosened lightly and he stepped back to survey Yuan. Lloyd may not have chosen Yuan's past method of choice in preserving the world as the most acceptable or morally inclined, but when it came down to trusting a person solely based on that person's nature (despite how much that person tried to hide it,) Yuan was at the top of the list. As for the half-elf's deceptive tendencies, Lloyd trusted that Yuan was untrusting, for the most part, and although Lloyd typically found himself mentally exhausted after trying to puzzle out what Yuan did or why he did it or how he did it, there was more than enough reason to believe that he could safely align himself with the former Renegades leader and feel entirely secure with the situation. The connection between Yuan's history and Lloyd's distant history was the best example that came to Lloyd's mind.

"Until tomorrow," Lloyd finally said on behalf of his departure. Turning on heel, the red-clad Hero of Regeneration began to close the distance between him and the door. However, before he opened the door to allow his exit, he turned once more to face Yuan with a gaze that interlocked with Yuan's for a fleeting moment.

"I trust you. Don't give me a reason not to, Ka-fai."

Breaking the connection by looking forward, Lloyd opened the door and slipped through to vanish from sight, but not from mind. With his arms crossed and chin lowered, Yuan's gaze lingered on the now-closed set of doors that had just granted Lloyd exit from the chamber. His lips slipped into a subtle smirk that could have been taken as amused or aggravated, but only the latter fit the atmosphere that had descended upon the half-elf's mood.

"You're a bad influence on your son, Aurion."


End file.
